Fall 2017 Class Notes Photos
Harris Children Gather with Dad
The children of Lt. Bill Harris ’45 (right), 96, who attended OWU but did not graduate due to his Air Force service during World War II, recently gathered with their father. From left, above: Nancy Harris Backhaus ’64, Dave Harris ’69, Carrie Harris ’84, Ralph Harris, Janet Harris Sanders ’67, M. Kathy Harris Woods ’75. Not pictured are siblings, and OWU graduates, John Philip Woods ’74 and Fran Gallo Harris ’68.
Sorority Sisters Hang New Painting in Chapter House
Kappa Alpha Theta sisters gathered over Reunion Weekend in May to hang a watercolor painting by Ros Seabury Collins ’52 in their chapter house. From left: current student and Kappa Alpha Theta facility manager Ana Borish ’19, Ros Seabury Collins, and Liz Long Downey ’06.
Trustee Honored for Her Work
Helen Crider Smith ’56, a member of the Ohio Wesleyan Board of Trustees since 1985, was presented with the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) Earl F. Morris Trustee of the Year Award at an event in April. President Rock Jones nominated Smith for the award, which recognizes an exceptional trustee from one of the OFIC’s 34 member institutions.
Pi Phis Reunite on Campus
More than 50 Pi Phi sorority sisters from four decades, 16 states, and 16 class years gathered on campus April 28–30, including Sylvia Sanders Stevens ’59, left, and Marian Cake Brink ’59.
Alumni Host OWU Golf Teams for Lunch
On March 10, Carol Kneeland Crocker ’63 and her husband LeRoy hosted the OWU men’s and women’s golf teams for lunch at Dataw Island Club in S. Carolina, where the couple are members and OWU hosts a golf tournament. From left (front row): Jana Shipley, Marie Overing ’20, Liz Knowlton ’19, Alexis Reichardt ’20, Carol Kneeland Crocker ’63, LeRoy Crocker, Ana Borish ’19, Svitlana Yakim ’20, Blake Dell ’20; (back row): Ian Miller ’99, Nick Braydich ’20, Aunders Erickson ’20, Jamie Litzler ’17, Adam Armstrong ’19, Shane Hoben ’20, Zach Shahrokhi ’18, and Will Efkeman ’20.
Classmates Gather During Graduation Weekend
Graduates from the Class of 1965 reunited for OWU graduation on May 13. From left (back row): Dave Papoi, Heather Robinson Dick, Bob Alspach, Dan Schipfer, Andres Duarte, Cheryl Lawrence Pitcock, Marty Lytle Schipfer; front: Nancy Pfouts Rose.
Charlesworth Awarded Chair in Biblical Studies
James Charlesworth ’62, George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature and director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at Princeton Theological Seminary, has been offered the Griset Chair in Bible and Christian Tradition at Chapman University in Los Angeles for spring 2018 during his sabbatical. In the past two years, he has presented invited plenary addresses abroad in Berlin, St. Petersburg, and Moscow, and in the United States at Houston Baptist University, Florida State University, and Lanier Theological Library in Houston (pictured, with his books).
He received the 2017 Thomas Nelson Distinguished Scholar Award and contributed commentary to the April PBS film The Last Days of Jesus. Previously, he taught in Jerusalem, Duke University, and the University of Tübingen in Germany. He served as McCarthy Professor of the Pontificia Università Gregoriana in Rome and distinguished visiting professor at Naples University. An ordained minister with the United Methodist Church, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Lanier Theological Library in the spring.
Alumnus’ Poetry Book Features College Roommate’s Photography
Larry Levy ’69 is the author of a new collection of poetry, All the Dead Are Holy, published by Atmosphere Press and reviewed by, among others, poet and fiction writer John Palen: “(Levy) explores his Jewish and Midwestern heritage, the strains and joys of teaching and of being a student, the resilience and vulnerability of childhood, and the ever presence of evil in the world, from the Holocaust to our own time. ...These poems exemplify compassion and emotional accuracy through an observing eye and craftsmanship.” The book’s cover is from a photo by Rob Hyner ’69, of Avon, Conn., Levy’s OWU roommate and good friend. Delta College professor emeritus in English and education, Levy received awards during his career for innovation, scholarship, and teaching excellence. He and his wife Cheryl Kern Levy ’69 live in Midland, Mich., where they direct plays and musicals for the Midland Center of the Arts.
The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship
Recently on a train between Tangier and Rabat, Morocco, David Herbawi ’18 and alumna Marcie McBurney Stutzman ’78 were surprised and excited to discover their shared connection to OWU. Herbawi is a geography major from Boston, in Morocco for a semester abroad studying Arabic. Stutzman, an English and French major, spent the semester researching oral proficiency in foreign languages in Morocco as a Fulbright Distinguished Teacher. She lives and teaches in Middletown, Md.
Classmates Enjoy Buns Restaurant (Again!)
OWU friends gathered at Buns Restaurant in Delaware, Ohio, on April 28. From left: Maryjane Miller Hotaling ’83, Marcy Metivier Pearson ’84, and Rae Ann Logan Herman ’84.
50 Years of Friendship, 30 Years of Golf
Phi Delts from the Class of 1971 gathered for a golf trip in Kiawah, S.C., their third decade of doing so. The group marking 50 years since their freshman year were (from left) Tim Flossie, Brian Fitzpatrick, Dick Sesler, Mike Tharp, Peter Billington, Rich Henley, Jon Holcomb, and Peter James.
Sinclair Works to Improve Struggling Schools
Rich Sinclair ’96 is the founder of Leading Schools Forward, based in Chapel Hill, N.C., which helps turn around struggling schools by creating a spirited and sustainable work environment for faculty and staff. It works on a “peoplecentric” model that emphasizes character and establishing shared values. His research was inspired by the Built on Values model pioneered by Ann Rhoades. The model is now increasingly common across numerous industries.
“I began to study and practice culture leadership, determined to find a more effective organizational workplace model for schools than the traditional hierarchy,” Sinclair says. He was inspired to pursue education at a young age. Once at OWU, “I joined the House of H.O.P.E. (Helping Others Pursue Education) and after that, I never looked back.”
“College was a chance to start over after a difficult youth, and the opportunities in and outside the classroom were endless,” Sinclair says about his OWU experience. He recalls the constant support of friends and mentors, including education professor Amy McClure and former professor Michael Grote, psychology professor Kim Dolgin, Chaplain Jon Powers and Sue Pastors, then-director of community service learning, and his brothers in Alpha Sigma Phi.
But as his organization promotes, Sinclair knows that real change starts with the individual. “You cannot love, accept, and believe in others if you do not already have it inside you,” he says.
Meryl Streep Reads Smith’s Work
Maggie Smith ’99 has poems forthcoming in The Best American Poetry 2017, Plume, Los Angeles Review, and elsewhere. Her works have recently appeared in The New York Times, Ploughshares, and other publications. Her poem “Good Bones” went viral in June 2016 following the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla. In April, it was read on the CBS drama Madam Secretary and was also read by Meryl Streep at the Academy of American Poets’ 15th annual Poetry & the Creative Mind gala reading at Lincoln Center on April 19. Her poem Small Shoes was featured in The New York Times on April 21. Smith did a public reading and discussion of Good Bones at OWU on April 5. Her third book, also titled Good Bones, will be published by Tupelo Press in September.
Bishop Clerks for Bishop
For the past three years, James Walsh ’10 (right) was a law clerk at Huffman, Hunt & Klym, LLC in Westlake, Ohio, whose founding partner is Charles Huffman Jr. ’44 (left). Walsh graduated from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law in May, after which he left the firm to study full-time for the Ohio Bar.
Roettenbacher Creates Image of Distant Start
Rachael Roettenbacher ’08 and her interferometric work to create a time-lapse video of the surface of the star Zeta Andromedae (And) were featured in Discover Magazine’s April issue. Her first-of-its-kind work for her dissertation produced a series of images of the star from more than a quadrillion miles (181 light years) away, allowing for comparison with the sun and for testing of models of stellar evolution. The pattern of spots on the star was revealed to be very different from that on the sun, challenging theories of how stars’ magnetic fields influence their evolution, according to Astronomy Now.
To create the mini movie, Roettenbacher observed Zeta And for 18 full nights, the time it takes the star to rotate, and then combined the light from six different telescopes to synthesize the kind of image that otherwise would be possible only with an enormous space telescope, according to Discover. The processed data are imported into a software program, developed by her mentor, John Monnier at the University of Michigan. The program images the observations as the surface of the star.
Roettenbacher is now a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Astronomy at Stockholm University in Sweden and trying to observe more stars to push observational techniques further.
In addition, she was awarded the 2017 Olivier Chesneau Prize in High Angular Resolution Astronomy for her doctoral thesis “Shifting the Starspot Paradigm Through Imaging Magnetic Structures and Evolution.”
Alumni Gather at Hamburger Inn
From left: Elizabeth Riggio ’14, Kelsey Ullom ’14, and Rachel Tallmadge ’14 enjoy the OWU Magazine at the Hamburger Inn during a visit to Delaware, Ohio.
Greene-Shah Wedding
Erika Greene ’04 was married to Nihar Shah on April 15 in Columbus. OWU alumni joining in the celebration were (from left) Rachel Witsaman ’04, maid of honor Jenny Brodie ’04, Evan Garver ’04, Rebecca Little Leitschuh ’04, Jeff Sindelar ’04, Emily Flanagan Kaylor ’03, Elizabeth Davis Conway ’04, Chris Moore ’04, bridesmaid Becky VanFossen ’04, bride Ericka Greene ’04, groom Nihar Shah, Alleyn Harned ’03, Brad McCain ’03, Andrew Kaylor ’04, Victoria Hills ’03, Laura Caito ’05, Frank Gebauer ’02, Claire Wittlinger Robinson ’04, Matt Robinson ’04, and Will Austin ’06.
Alumna’s Message in a Bottle Is Found Two Years Later and a Continent Away
When Sadie Parsons ’16 threw a message in a bottle into the ocean during a semester at sea in 2015, she had no idea whether anyone would find it — or that it would land her on Australia’s ABC national broadcast. Parsons spent a semester in SEA Semester’s Sustainability in Polynesian Island Cultures and Ecosystems (SPICE) program, sailing on a 13-foot school ship among 23 students researching climate change in the South Pacific. The students started by taking classes in Woods Hole, Mass., then flew to American Samoa where they boarded the Robert C. Seamans, ultimately sailing to Western Samoa, Wallis and Futuna, Fiji, and New Zealand.
“Our captain has been sailing since he was 10 years old and was home-schooled as he sailed all over the world with his parents,” Parsons recalls. “One day he decided to throw a message in a bottle with glass wine bottles and corks. Since then he has thrown more than 250 bottles and has received around 45 responses! He passed the idea on to his students.”
Inspired by her captain, Parsons dropped her bottled message as the ship departed Fiji for New Zealand. Two years later, on April 14, she received an email from a 9-year-old boy named Tristan from Australia. “He was walking along a semi-remote beach called Hungry Head with his ‘mum’ and he came across my message in a bottle half-covered in sand. He emailed me right away!” says Parsons. Word spread of the surprising discovery, and Parsons was featured on the Australian ABC newscast as well as on a children’s news show.
These days, Parsons is still living near the water, running tour boats on her home island of Catalina, Calif.—and keeping an eye out for any bottles washing ashore, no doubt.